Cary Tusan & Renee LoSapio Summon Comedy Chaos With You Shall Not Pass! at GeekFest

WEPAAAA, Crusaders! There are plenty of fantasy stories built around ancient prophecies, impossible quests and legendary wizards arriving just in time to save the world. Writer/director Cary Tusan and producer/writer/actor Renee Michele LoSapio apparently looked at all of that majestic storytelling history and asked a much more important question: what if Gandalf showed up to help and somehow made your life worse every single time he opened his mouth?

That wonderfully ridiculous setup powers You Shall Not Pass!, a seven-minute Oregon fan film selected for GeekFest Year 13. The short follows a nerdy college student who invokes a Gandalf figurine into real life hoping the legendary wizard can solve a problem. Instead, every new “solution” escalates the chaos. GeekFest lists the film among its Year 13 selections alongside a broad slate of science fiction, horror, fantasy, action and fan-film shorts. The cast includes Jeff Brosy, Sequoia Allen, Heidi Williams, Reagan Sellers and Sandy Streit.

Cary and Renee recently joined Al Mega for another Comic Crusaders x GeekFest Special to break down how the project came together, and the conversation goes well beyond simply talking about Gandalf jokes. Creating an effective seven-minute comedy means almost every second has to earn its place. Characters need to be established quickly, the premise has to make immediate sense, and each escalating disaster has to outperform the previous one without turning the movie into a string of disconnected punchlines.

Renee brings a particularly interesting comedic perspective to the collaboration. Based in Portland, she works as a writer and actor and previously performed and produced improv and sketch productions in Chicago at iO Theater, The Crowd Theater and the Second City Training Center. That background makes timing, reaction and character commitment just as important as the written joke.

The conversation also dives into something fan films constantly wrestle with: how do you celebrate a universe audiences already understand while still creating something that feels like your own? You Shall Not Pass! uses the instant cultural recognition surrounding Gandalf as the doorway, but the real comedic engine is watching somebody discover that legendary power does not necessarily equal practical competence.

Convention screenings add another dimension to the experience. GeekFest has the film programmed in its fan-film block at Long Beach Comic Con, where audiences can watch the shorts and vote for their favorites. The film is also listed for GeekFest programming at Rose City Comic Con, giving this Oregon production an especially fitting opportunity to play for a hometown-region genre crowd.

Independent filmmaking lives on that direct connection between creators and audiences. You can obsess over edits, performances and jokes inside a production bubble for months, but nothing replaces sitting in a room full of strangers and hearing exactly where they laugh. Cary and Renee now get to experience that reaction firsthand while You Shall Not Pass! travels through GeekFest.

Check out the full Comic Crusaders Podcast conversation with Cary Tusan and Renee LoSapio, follow the filmmakers and support You Shall Not Pass! throughout its GeekFest run. Just remember one important lesson before you leave: if the collectible on your shelf suddenly starts talking back, maybe don’t immediately ask it for life advice.

The Crusade Never Ends!